Thursday, June 29, 2006

Roberto Luongo gets a Long-Term Deal

That was quick work by Dave Nonis, who is definitely shedding his 'no-no' nickname.We can now consider the trade a good one for the Canucks, barring Luongo turning into a pumpkin or Peter Skudra.

From TSN.caGoaltender Roberto Luongo finally has the long-term deal he's always wanted, signing a four-year, $27 million US contract with the Vancouver Canucks.

According to CKNW Radio in Vancouver, the new deal will pay Luongo $6 million US in the first year, $6.5 million US in the second year, $7 million US in the third year, and $7.5 million US in the final year. The contract also contains a no-trade clause for the final three years.

"We are pleased to have agreed to a long-term deal with Roberto today," Vancouver GM Dave Nonis said in a release.

"Roberto has proven himself to be an elite goaltender. His international experience, Vezina Trophy nomination and ability to consistently play at the highest level are tremendous assets that we believe will make the Vancouver Canucks competitive each and every night."It's often foolish to give one player so much money, but Roberto Luongo is one of the few real difference-makers and 'franchise' players that deserves that kind of salary.

The bad news? The Canucks now have $25.77mil in salary tied up in only 7 players. The Sedinbots need to be re-signed, and perhaps Tarantula Head as well.

Dan Cloutier and his $2.55mil salary will obviously be the first to go if Dave Nonis can get anyone to take him off of his hands. Really, a set of used pucks would be sufficient. The problem is that Cloutier isn't that much better than many of the other available goaltenders out there and his salary is high. The Canucks may have to bite a buy-out bullet or pay for part of his deal and trade him elsewhere.

I also fully expect Markus Naslund and his $6mil to be dealt. He doesn't seem to be all that happy here and his best friend, Grumpy Bear, is no longer a Canuck. Getting these two contracts out of the way would free up a lot of space for Nonis to fill out the rest of the roster. Unlike Cloutier, Naslund should be able to fetch a nice price if he's being bandied about on the trade market.

Well, I think Naslund might be tricky to move because of his NTC; not impossible mind you, just more difficult. Someone also suggseted Naslund for Pronger but I can't see Naslund agreeing to leave Vancouver for anywhere but Ornskoldvoldholdoutskvik.

I think the main thing people will point to when looking at Luongo will be the season he has before the lockout.

His team played defence about as well as Sergei Berezin and he was routinely making 40-50 saves a game while his stats were near (or at) the top of every goalie category.

It's nice to see Vancouver get themselves a quality goaltender for once, With a good team system (as demonstrated by this years SCF final four) and Luongo in net, this team can make some noise. Nonis would have looked very bad if Luongo left as a free agent next year.

Vancouver trades Linden to the islanders for Bertuzzi, McCabe and 3rd Rounder (Ruutu)Vancouver trades McCabe for Chicago's 1st round pick (Sedin)Vancouver trades Bertuzzi as part of a deal for Luongo

so Vancouver trades Linden, Allen and Auld for Luongo, Sedin and Ruutu.. not bad.